


Ice Cold

by MonkeyVenom



Category: Bleach
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Paperwork, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-14
Updated: 2014-02-14
Packaged: 2018-01-12 07:40:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,367
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1183649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonkeyVenom/pseuds/MonkeyVenom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nanao spends an afternoon alone in the office, and Shunsui proves a quiz wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ice Cold

With a quiet padding of the stamp, the last piece of paperwork had been completed. Now, all that needed to be done was file the stack of documents, but Nanao figured that, judging by the content of what she had just done and the dates, she could wait a little while longer to complete them. Besides, with everyone out of the office, off to enjoy their own afternoons in the warmth of the barracks, the lieutenant felt that she could enjoy a quiet respite for herself. Perhaps make some of that black tea that she liked so much.

Anything but green, the powdered kind was deplorably bitter.

One steaming pot of tea later, Nanao had decided to take the seat of her captain, as the typically jovial man had also gone gallivanting off to parts unknown during the day. His desk happened to be situated by the window, while although it wasn't open due to the cold weather, that offered a marvelous view of the gardens outside. They weren't as splendid as the Eighth company gardens had been, of course, but they would do, nonetheless.

The young woman had in one hand a cup of tea, and in the other a human magazine. According to Rangiku, the thin book held information on all sorts of issues and inquiries, such as new dieting habits, the latest trends, and tips on romance. Nanao skimmed over the diets, as she was rather pleased with her current figure, and scoffed at the 'fashion.' To her, it seemed like some people wouldn't know taste if it beat them over the head with a book. So, that left her with the very back of the magazine, the section aptly named 'Your Valentine and You.' 

She blinked, furrowing her brows. Had Valentine's Day crept up that quickly? She supposed that she had been rather busy as of late, and hardly had the time to check the calendar, but still. At least, she would've expected her captain to say something on the matter, the gaudy holiday was one of the few times during the year where she accepted advances without impromptu violence. A card, or the obligatory chocolate, were her usual offerings, of which she had neither. With all of the gifts he received during the day, she supposed, he probably wouldn't even notice if her gift was absent from the pile.

Glancing back at the magazine section, she took a sip of her tea and grabbed a pen, bending the pages back so that the small book could fit comfortably in her lap. It was a simple enough quiz, claiming to be capable of rating whether one's love was 'red hot' or 'ice cold.' With a small chuckle, she began circling answers, entertaining the notion that her captain was the Valentine the quiz required for its answers. There were questions as generic as 'Would you and your Valentine go to A, B, or C?' to questions like 'What kind of undies is he wearing tonight?' 

An eyebrow raised, she wondered if a child wrote that particular question, as 'undies' wasn't exactly the term a capable adult would call their undergarments. 

With all of the questions answered, she went to the judgment part of the quiz, where one would tally up their score and come to the answer to the quiz's initial question. It went without saying that her result would be 'ice cold', but what else was she expecting? It wasn't like her captain was really her Valentine, he was hardly a candidate for romantic interest at all. Now, that wasn't to say that she wasn't attracted, that wasn't it at all. In fact, one could be so bold as to say that Nanao was quite fond of her lackadaisical superior; she was just convinced that he didn't feel the same for her. While it was true he went out of his way to chat and flirt with her, she had observed that he exhibited the exact same behavior to a majority of female soul reapers, so clearly such treatment was not preferential. Why, she even had the pleasure of sitting in on Kyoraku and Ukitake's weekly game night, but even then she had seen others like Ukitake's third seats or Captain Unohana present as well. As nice as it was to sit in with the two of them while they made it a game to see who could play the longest without winning, she couldn't really call it a privilege to watch them. 

Perhaps that quiz had been correct in its evaluation, and she was indeed chilly in the field of love. It wouldn't surprise her, in all honesty, as she lacked the passion and...motivation of soul reapers like Rangiku. That woman could manage to snag any man at all, and yet she had only ever had eyes for Ichimaru. With him gone, she had stayed noticeably single, and more dedicated to her young captain. If one didn't know any better, they'd think the two were mother and son. 

Nanao set the magazine onto the desk, leaning back in the chair to drink the rest of her lukewarm tea. There was another reason she liked this spot in the office, and it wasn't quite the desk. When the two of them had been relocated to the first, her captain had brought with him many things, one of which being this chair. It wasn't a special chair, by any means; it was probably worth less than a typical uniform replacement. Yet, it was his chair, and it smelled every bit like the flowers and soap scent that always seemed to trail him. She closed her eyes, taking a deep inhale, and imagined that he was standing right behind her. With his gray eyes, and that lop-sided grin, and that way that he breathed as he leaned over her to see what was on his desk...

“Good afternoon, Nanao-chan~”

She let out and undignified squeak, pushing back from the desk in the chair, essentially bumping into him. He took the action in stride, catching the back with his hand to keep it from going into the wall. “'Ice Cold', huh? I don't know, Nanao-chan, I don't like those odds.” He kept his voice at the same rich baritone that he usually teased her in, resting an arm against the back of the chair. She adjusted her glasses, turning her body around so that she faced him somewhat, “It's just a quiz, sir, there is no need to take offense to it.”

He seemed to ignore her outright, taking the magazine in hand, “Well, let's see...if I were to take you on a Valentine's getaway, I would go for somewhere calm and quiet, like you. That option's not even on here, Nanao-chan, so there's no way it could count.” Taking the pen in hand, he crossed out the question in a neat line, “And, 'panties'? Hmm...well, I might not be wearing any at all, so that wouldn't count either~” Another line through, and he began to run through each question in succession, leaving her rather quiet in her spot in his chair. After a moment's silence, he hummed softly, “Well, that settles it: this quiz doesn't even count.”

She looked up at him, slightly confused as to his meaning behind this, before he produced a box and held it out to her, “I realize, of course, that this is a little out of the ordinary, but these are for you.” The box was placed in her hands carefully, and he came around the desk to stand at her side. 

She cast one more look at him, before opening the box, discovering the dark chocolate-raspberry candies she liked so much. Opening her mouth to protest, she thought better, shaking her head, “Sir, this is very kind of you, but I completely forgot the date this year. I'm afraid I don't have anything to give you in return.”

He chuckled heartily, pecking the top of her head, “If you accompany me on that calm and quiet getaway, I might let it slip~” 

Taking a moment to respond, she sighed, the corners of her mouth upturning slightly, “File these reports first, and I'll think about it.”


End file.
